This Stinks.
In every construction project, there is a moment of uh-oh. Did we take on too much?
The unknown and unforseen components of construction are why we always have a 'contigency fund' which is an unallocated amount in case of problems. Unfortunately for us, the need for the contingency has come up, and the problem is actually larger than what we had set aside.
This renovation was largely affecting the ground floor, and components of the basement. We had completed a previous renovation a few years previously, converting 3 bedrooms in the basement into a 2 bedroom secondary dwelling apartment, with a spacious bathroom/laundry combination. Here are some images of how those spaces looked.
Relocating the staircase significantly opened up this apartment, and let us make it a better space for our family member who now lives in that space. Previously we had used it as a rental.
And then we tried to tie the new plumbing into the existing sewer pipes under the slab. Everything collapsed. Apparently the cast iron pipe from 1961 had been brittle, and was already experiencing small disconnections. We had a video scope come in that didn't seem to indicate a huge problem, but while attempting to fix the sewer lines, The only way to fix it, is to dig up the ENTIRE sewer pipe path under our concrete slab, and take apart this almost new bathroom that we had not intended to touch.
The costs here were as follows:
Concrete cutting.
Toilet replacement (the existing one was accidentally shattered by the concrete cutting team).
Digging up of old pipe pieces.
New plumbing.
Fresh concrete pour.
Replacement of tile floor in bathroom.
Replacement of flooring along the path of cuts.
The good news for us, is we should not have to worry about this sewer line in the future. If this had to happen, this is the best time for it to become an issue, but it was still time, and money.